The Beach Umbrella CASE STUDY #24
CAMERA:
Hasselblad 503c
LENS:
50mm
FILM:
120 Fuji RDP
EXPOSURE: LIGHTING:
f/8 at 1/125 second Norman 200B with white umbrella
Assignment
Tips
Another image I created in the course of my “Fathers
Working on sandy beaches with strobe lights can be-
and Sons” project was of Tom Midgley and his son.
come a nightmare if you are not properly equipped. I always bring a weight—either an empty sandbag that
Visual Objective
you can fill at the beach, a gallon jug (with a hook)
My objective was to create an image that would reflect
that you fill with ocean water, or a Bogen super clamp
a sense of openness and security.
with a U-hook you can hang the power pack on. In addition, I bring large plastic garbage bags to place
Posing
over my camera bag, strobe pack, and any other equip-
I wanted to portray security in this relationship, but
ment I need to keep sand off. Finally, be sure to pack
Tom’s son was a bit too big to put in his lap. I decided
a can of compressed air and a digital sensor cleaner.
it would reveal more about growing up if his son was sitting on the arm of the chair. The Story
It is difficult to stay away from the beach when I am in Los Angeles—and yet, up to this point in my “Fathers and Sons” project, I had not photographed any of the Los Angeles fathers and sons on the beach. When I got this opportunity to photograph Tom Midgley and his son on the beach, I was excited. My assistant Martin Semjen (a friend, not a photographer) and I dragged the gear, chair, and umbrella across the beach to the perfect spot. We had about a half hour to set up before the sun would be setting, which left me about fifteen minutes of good twilight to shoot. Tom and his son arrived as the sun was setting behind the bluff and I started shooting. About five minutes after the sun had dropped I got my shot. 70
50 LIGHTING SETUPS FOR PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHERS
shoot-through white umbrella
